Coaches should also invest in their own coaching. Mindset is everything and as a coach, it is also equally important that you take time to work with a coach too. Really it’s pretty simple and straightforward. We must also give ourselves as coaches the same level of care that we help our clients realize they must take for themselves.
The coaching industry is now tremendous. It is a 15 billion dollar industry. Many professionals have left their office jobs to become highly successful coaches. At the same time, not everyone who starts a coaching business sees success. What does someone starting a career as a life coach, wellness coach, or business coach need to know to turn it into a very successful and rewarding career?
In this interview series, called “Five Things You Need To Create a Highly Successful Career As a Life or Business Coach” we are interviewing experienced and successful life coaches, wellness coaches, fitness coaches, business and executive coaches and other forms of coaches who share the strategies you need to create a successful career as a life or business coach.
In this particular interview, we had the distinct pleasure of interviewing Christina Medina.
Christina is a manifestation, transformation coach and mentor, and hosts the podcast Mindset to Manifestation, and is also a Reiki Master. Transformation has been a big theme in her life and she feels that it’s her soul’s purpose to guide others in transforming and manifesting a life beyond anything they could ever imagine. She works with mindset, energy, and the Laws of the Universe. It’s a very spiritual practice that requires an open mind and the release of old mental programs that limit each of us.
Thank you so much for joining us in this interview series! Before we dive in, our readers would love to “get to know you” a bit better. Can you tell us a bit about your ‘backstory’ and what brought you to this particular career path?
Sure! My path to this industry came from overcoming a life full of adversity followed by a strong desire to help others just like me transform their lives. As a child I overcame several obstacles, growing up with family members who struggled with substance abuse and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. If I look back, I could say that my life was full of abandonment, heartbreak, feelings of loneliness, fear, and rooted in generations of living in a scarcity mindset. I was forced out of my home in the middle of the night by my drunken mother. I was seventeen at the time and in my last year of high school. I’d like to say that things got better from there, but I didn’t have a secure foundation in my childhood and had many distortions on what healthy relationships looked like. You could say that most people had pretty low expectations of me and I had little to no support in changing my life. Yet I worked hard and tried to fit in, following the usual path that I saw others acting out. I worked my way through university, went into student loan debt, and eventually moved to New York City with my then-husband. After even more struggle, a divorce, losing my job (twice), and a recession, I found myself working in a loud, crowded bar to support myself. I was all alone and didn’t have the luxury of family support and so I had to make it work. This also happened to be my breaking point. I felt as though I was in a constant uphill battle and was tired of living a life of barely surviving.
I experienced what is often called the Dark Night of the Soul. It was long. It was lonely. It was very dark. There were times that I wanted to end things but something inside me kept calling me to continue to keep trying. It was one step forward, and two steps back for a few more years. On a life-changing night, in 2010, I was over-served drinks at a bar, and I blacked out. I have no idea how I got home across town and vaguely remember falling into my fifth-floor walkup in the East Village. This is the night that changed the trajectory of my life forever. I woke up the following morning feeling terrible, found my cracked screen Mac and started to cry. I didn’t have the money to fix it and I was so incredibly embarrassed about my behavior. After every dark night, there must come down, and somehow through the hangover, I got one of those inner voice messages that told me to find a job in a yoga studio — to somehow balance the nights working in a loud crowded bar with the healing of yoga.
I started working at a yoga studio by day, where I learned more about yoga, meditation, and energy healing. I also stopped spending the little money I had on partying and invested it in working with a life coach. She helped me see that I was the creator of my reality. I learned that I could become a different person, someone of my own creation, living my dream life if I committed to continued growth. I knew I wanted to help other people make these same changes. I had fairly successful coaching and Reiki practice, but I still wasn’t making the kind of money that would lead me to have the wellness center I dreamed of at the time. So, I enrolled in a real estate class ready to apply everything I previously used to change my life to the glamor of real estate in New York City. I managed to exist in both worlds, the spiritual and the business world. It wasn’t long before I quickly rose to the top of the industry. I desired to be a success at this and was fiercely committed. I also wanted to bring my positive energy and abundance mindset into an industry fueled by competition and scarcity.
I decided to merge my two passions (manifestation and real estate) and organized frequent mindset workshops for real estate agents who wanted to learn how to meditate, develop an abundance mindset and overcome their fears. Confident that I’d found a true calling, I launched the official Mindset to Manifestation podcast in 2018 to connect with others who wish to bring more abundance into their lives. Now I’m passionate about helping others develop an abundance mindset using everything I’ve learned from the last decade as a life coach, Master Reiki practitioner, certified yoga instructor, and fellow human that has managed to transform my life beyond anything I could have imagined.
You are a successful business leader. Which three character traits do you think were most instrumental to your success? Can you please share a story or example for each?
Integrity is very important to me. I believe the way to stand out in a sea of others is to determine what you stand for and why then live by those principles. I also believe in transparency and honesty in business transactions. Everything has an energy and frequency, and so I choose to operate from the energy of love and abundance, rather than subscribing to operating a business from lack, competition, and scarcity. As we transition into new paradigm/new world thinking, these characteristics in business will stand out among others operating from old paradigm thinking. The consumers evolve mentally and spiritually, they will support those businesses they feel aligned with over others. Lastly, bravery. In a world that is designed to make us conform and be just like everyone else, I believe it was my feeling of “being on the outside looking in ‘’ that shaped me into being a brave leader, feeling as though I must be true to myself and honor my instincts in my life and business decisions. I suppose in some ways all of these characteristics overlap!
How have habits played a role in your success? Can you share some success habits that have helped you in your journey?
I work best with a routine. I find that having that foundation and structure gives me a feeling of true freedom in my downtime, meaning, I like the balance of having both structures combined with time to do anything that I feel called or inspired to do. This balance drives me forward but also gives me the time I need to stay connected to myself, tap into my intuition and hear the ideas surfacing from my intuition (I refer to this as my Inner Guide). I wake up at 5 am to do breathwork, meditate, write and watch videos. I love to spend a couple of hours each morning practicing mindfulness and also collecting information. I love to research areas of self-improvement, spirituality, and new findings on the brain and how it works. It’s my time to follow the trail of breadcrumbs in the forest of my imagination. I also make it a regular habit of visiting my goals and making sure they’re still in alignment with my vision for my life. Things change and what once felt aligned may start to uncover other things that lead me to a far better place than I could have imagined. This is what I mean when I refer to breadcrumbs; I have goals but I understand that the goals I create are based on my perception of what is currently available to me. The Universe knows there is so much more and so I allow some room for the beautiful unfolding of it all.
This will be intuitive to you but it will be helpful to spell this out directly. Can you help explain a few reasons why it is so important to create good habits? Can you share a story or give some examples?
Good habits are different for us all. I think that when you take time to reflect and create a vision for your life, you then have a direction to move towards — you have a goal. The “good” habits you want to develop are those regular steps that help you get there. Keeping at is how you move closer to it. As you start to do this regularly you begin to see the progress, which is a huge motivator. It’s also a time to get to know yourself and how you handle challenges or setbacks. This is a great time to work on your character and who you choose to be. Taking time to celebrate small wins will help you become aware of your progress and keep you motivated to see your dreams come to fruition. It’s also important to understand that there is much joy in experiencing the journey of accomplishing something, rather than rushing to the finish line. If you can shift your perspective to this, you begin to enjoy the daily practice and contribution you have in these good habits. Achieving something becomes so much more enjoyable when you can truly relish and bask in the discovery that you experience along the way.
Speaking in general, what is the best way to develop good habits? Conversely, how can one stop bad habits?
Again, good habits vary and are subjective. By my definition, a good habit is something that leads you to where you want to be and a bad habit is something that throws you off the path. (Yet I believe that getting thrown off the path is not such a bad thing — there’s stuff to discover in those moments. It’s all in how you view it.) To answer your question, the best way to develop good habits is to consistently check in with yourself and make sure you are honoring and supporting yourself. Did you set a goal, only to find out that you are not motivated to keep at it every day? If so, then maybe this goal is not something that really excites you. Perhaps there’s another way to get you to where you want to be, something that you feel motivated to do? There’s more than one road to get to your destination, so maybe you need a new route? I think by getting creative and checking in with yourself, you will naturally develop the “good” habits and the bad ones will sort of work themselves out. The key is knowing what you want and feeling aligned with that goal. If you’re trying to adopt a goal because you see someone else doing it, then you may not have the motivation to get to it every day, but if you feel a sense of purpose with your goal, you will be willing to give your best on the daily to get a little closer to it.
Can you share your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Why does that resonate with you so much?
It’s not as much of a quote as it is a parable. It’s referred to as the “Cherokee Two Wolves Story” and it’s a true testament to the power of mindset and free will. In the story, a grandfather is teaching his grandson about life and explains to him that in each of us, we have a fight between two wolves. One wolf represents anger, greed, jealousy, envy, and regret — essentially, the characteristics of a scarcity/fear-based mindset. While the other wolf represents compassion, faith, generosity, peace, empathy, and truth — characteristics of an abundance/love-based mindset. The little boy asked his grandfather “Who wins the fight”? The grandfather replies, “The one you feed.” Powerful. I love this story and can remember the first time I heard it. It had a huge impact on me. We possess both qualities and this is what it is to be human, to have free will. We get to choose what we believe, what we think, and who we want to become in this life. We have so much power to create. It’s beautiful.
What are some of the most interesting or exciting projects you are working on now? How do you think that might help people? I’m launching a group mentorship program soon and will be teaching others how to work with mindset and energy, actually the transmutation of energy. This is very exciting. I learned how to channel my energies in my training as an artist. With art, I learned how to take whatever emotions I was feeling, especially those of anger, fear, scarcity, and lack then turn them into creative power. I’m excited to share these discoveries with my clients in a group setting, creating more of a community, and can’t wait to see the incredible impact they will have on their immediate world as well as what they will bring to others. I’m also writing a book that’s a combination of memoirs regarding my spiritual journey and also a guide on transmuting the energy to transform your life. It’s based on the culmination of several ancient principles and teachings I’ve been exposed to over the years through various mentors. I want to do my part to get information to others so we can start to see some incredible shifts in the way people and businesses operate as well as seeing an overall improvement in the quality of life in our society.
Ok super. Here is the main question of our interview. Many coaches are successful, but some are not very successful. From your experience or perspective, what are the main factors that distinguish successful coaches from unsuccessful ones? What are your “Five Things You Need To Create a Highly Successful Career As a Life or Business Coach”? If you can, please share a story or an example for each.
Energetic and emotional boundaries: Respecting yourself and also knowing that each client is on their journey, you are there to facilitate change, but they must do the work! When I first started coaching I often felt drained and not energized. As an empath, I picked up on a lot of energies and emotions, yet didn’t understand how to preserve my energy. After working in Reiki as well as with my own mentors and coaches, I’ve learned how to protect my energy and have great boundaries.
Determine your business hours, plan days off and vacations. Most coaches do not schedule these things and work whenever their client needs them. This is very similar to tip #1. It’s important to treat this as a business with real working hours of operation. Also, as a business, it’s important that you have time blocked off to take care of your personal things and take much-needed breaks. Remember, very often you are helping your clients realize their value and worthiness, and so it’s important to have these same characteristics and practices for yourself.
Offer group workshops & repurpose content: Offering a workshop is a great entry-level option for new clients. This can strengthen trust and lead to larger investment options like one-on-one coaching. You can conduct these via Zoom and can repurpose the content, then sell the video to potential clients. You only have so much time in one day if and if you’re relying solely on one-on-one clients, you could be limiting your earning potential. Just like any other business you need a way to consistently bring in new clients. By expanding your offerings you open yourself up to a pipeline of prospective clients.
Offer a variety of coaching packages for clients at various price points and availability. I don’t like to turn away a client due to financial reasons, but do feel it’s an important part of a client’s growth process to financially invest in coaching. That said, I have found that various coaching packages at different price points better serve clients at the various stages of their journey. It’s important to diversify your options so that you are able to share your offerings with a larger audience. (Also, don’t forget payment plans!)
Coaches should also invest in their own coaching. Mindset is everything and as a coach, it is also equally important that you take time to work with a coach too. Really it’s pretty simple and straightforward. We must also give ourselves as coaches the same level of care that we help our clients realize they must take for themselves.
What are the most common mistakes you have seen coaches make when they start their business? What can be done to avoid those errors?
Not treating it like a serious business is the biggest mistake. File for an LLC, get a separate checking account, establish yourself as a true business. This will change as well as up-level the way you view yourself in business. The other thing I see is that most coaches seem to subscribe to the same idea of what their coaching or mentorship practice should look like. I see this on Instagram a lot. If you look like everyone else, then why should they choose you? It’s important to set yourself apart from all the other coaches out there. Being true to yourself and going with what feels right to you is how you will align with your people, those that resonate best with you. That’s how you build loyalty.
Based on your experience and success, what are a few of the most important things a coach should know in order to create a Wow! Customer Experience? Please share a story or an example for each.
Consistently working on yourself and caring for your own energy as a coach is really important. It’s a part of the job! I do not see the business of coaching as something that you can just teach or guide someone to a better life without also working on your own. You must treat your own life and act in a way that is leading by example. This is how you inspire your clients to keep going because they see a light at the end of the tunnel through you. On that same note, it’s important that you also try being vulnerable. For example, you do not have to be perfect! It helps your clients see that we all have fears that surface, or make mistakes; it’s what we do with the feelings or when we make a mistake that matters most.
The more connection time you find for yourself, the more you open up to the “right” ways of creating a Wow!
Experience for your people.
This is tapping into one’s intuition-our Inner Guide. This is the creative Life Force Energy that flows through us all. Think of an artist, a craftsman, a writer, a musician, or anyone tapping into the flow or the zone — this is the inspiration I speak of that is unique to each one of us. This connection will help you to better serve your clients and customers in such a unique way. It’s much easier than forcing yourself to do something because you think you should. You will also develop a stronger gut instinct to help guide you.
Lead generation is one of the most important aspects of any business, and particularly in coaching. What are the best ways for a coach to find customers? Can you share some of the strategies you use to generate good, qualified leads?
I think having a podcast is great to build trust as well as allow your future clients to feel comfortable with you. When listeners reach out to me, they are already committed to working with me. Guest appearances on other podcasts expose you to a whole new audience. In fact, you don’t even need a podcast to be a guest on someone else’s podcast. The same goes for social media and YouTube. This type of lead generation has a more natural feeling. Conduct free workshops online or in person. This is a great way to gain exposure. Also, never underestimate the value of word of mouth. Yes, you can do things like ads and whatnot, but I found that I’m not lining up with dream clients this way and so I stopped doing that years ago.
Coaches are similar to startup founders who often work extremely long hours and it’s easy to end up burning the candle at both ends. What would you recommend to your fellow coaches about how to best take care of their physical and mental wellness when starting their business?
Give to yourself first. Wake up early and get in your writing, meditation, reading, breathwork, exercise, etc. This way you don’t make excuses later about why you don’t have time. Also, make sure you take breaks. By booking back-to-back sessions you are not giving yourself enough time to clear your energy and get a break. Try to get out for a walk, meditate mid-afternoon, something to reset yourself so you come to the table fully present.
You are a person of great influence. If you could start a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. 🙂
Well, I’m all about honoring our inner child, taking time to recognize who we were before we became influenced by others around us. That said, I would start a movement called Honor Your Inner Child Day, where we post photos of ourselves on social media as well as take time in our day to do something we really loved to do as a child. Ideally, this photo would be one that really represents our inner light. I feel it would be a great way to connect us all to a time when we didn’t judge others, we dreamed big dreams, we played (everything could be a game), we made friends with all kinds of people, and we imagined an unlimited world. People could organize events, parties, trips, etc around celebrating Honor Your Inner Child Day. Hmmm, maybe I should just organize this within my circle anyway and let it build???
We are blessed that some very prominent names in Business, VC funding, Sports, and Entertainment read this column. Is there a person in the world, or in the US with whom you would love to have a private breakfast or lunch, and why? He or she might just see this if we tag them.
Oprah. I’ve wanted to write a book for at least ten years and back in 2013, I designed a cover for a book that didn’t exist for my dream board. It had an endorsement from Oprah saying “A must-read!” Simple and straight to the point, thanks, Oprah! Last year, during the shutdown I started writing the book (finally). It was a slow start; however, this year I felt more in alignment with my purpose and I am on my last chapter! I’d love to talk to her about her own journey and give her a copy of my book.
How can our readers further follow your work online?
Subscribe to the podcast of course! Also, go to my website and sign up for the Sunday Night Email. I’m all about community and this email is my way of serving the audience and helping them have a great week. The motivation behind it goes back to the early days of my spiritual awakening. I was barely surviving and paying my rent. Every day I received a free email from Mike Dooly with a positive quote. I think it was called “Notes from the Universe.” It helped me so much during periods of struggle. It is my hope that these emails I send out help others just the same. You can also follow me on Instagram @MINDSETtoMANIFESTATION but I would say joining the mailing list is a great way to be a part of the community.
This was very inspiring. Thank you so much for the time you spent with this. We wish you continued success and good health!
